- Switzerland beat Serbia 3-2.
- Switzerland will not face Portugal in the last 16 round.
- This is the fourth time the team has reached the knockout round.
Doha: Switzerland booked a last-16 clash with Portugal at the World Cup on Friday after beating Serbia 3-2 in a tense match to finish second in Group G. Goalkeeper Vanja Malenkoc-Civic during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group G football match between Serbia and Switzerland at Stadium 974 in Doha on December 2, 2022.
Xherdan Shaqiri gave the Swiss an early lead but first-half goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic turned the game around before Briel Mbolo equalized just before half-time.
Shortly after the restart, Remo Freiller’s superb goal proved to be the winner, sending the Swiss team through to the knockout rounds for the fourth time in five World Cups.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka said it was a game with a lot of emotions but in general it was a fair game.
“We wanted to focus on football and win games and we did it. Now we are in the round of 16 and we are proud.”
Bad blood marred a meeting between the teams at the 2018 tournament, when Xhaka and Shaqiri celebrated a goal by making pro-Kosovo gestures that infuriated the Serbs.
Tempers flared after Serbia appealed for a second-half penalty in Qatar on Friday, with the stadium announcer calling for an end to “all discriminatory chants and gestures” after about 15 minutes.
“I can’t tell you why and what happened,” Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic said.
“Sometimes there is tension and maybe some bad words can create some uncomfortable behavior, but it’s nothing special. It’s normal for this kind of game.”
Shakiri hits.
Shaqiri missed Switzerland’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil but came back strongly to fire home on 20 minutes.
Ricardo Rodriguez flicked a cross into the box which was cleared straight to Gabriel So, leaving Shaqiri to sweep home through the leg of Strahanja Pavlovic in front of the Serbian fans.
This time there was no double eagle signal. Instead, Shaqiri put a finger to his lips and pointed at the name on his shirt as a handful of bottles rained down.
Serbia counter-attacked minutes after Switzerland lost the ball in midfield, Dusan Tadic stooping in a cross for Mitrovic to meet brilliantly and nod into the far corner.
Shaqiri headed forward after timing his run perfectly to meet Rodriguez’s raking diagonal pass under Pavlovic’s pressure, but the Swiss then paid for another lapse in concentration.
They regained possession and Freuler looked on in despair as his attempted stop only saw Vlahoč ready to roll the ball past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
But Switzerland equalized just before the break as Sue picked out Sloan Widmer in acres of space on the right and his low cross was headed in by Kim Embolo.
The Cameroon-born striker’s pressure on a lumbering Pavlovic gave Switzerland their third goal shortly after half-time, a team effort completed by Freuler.
Shaqiri latched onto a delicate ball as Embolo chased him down and Ruben Vargas’ cushioned backheel released Frewler to head in from around the penalty spot.
Serbia appealed in vain for a penalty as Mitrovic crumpled to the ground in the theatre, sparking an ugly flashpoint that led to the booking of reserve Serbia goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
It was one of 11 yellow cards on the night — the most in a World Cup game since the 2010 final.
Substitute Christian Fassnacht wasted a late chance to ease Swiss nerves when he was cleared on goal.
An unusual tussle between Xhaka and Nikola Milenkovic threatened to boil over, but in the end the Swiss stepped over the line to set up a date with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.